Report: Author Nicholas Sparks tried to ban an LGBT club from his private school

Katey Psencik, GateHouse Media

Thursday

Jun 13, 2019 at 2:11 PM

Romance writer Nicholas Sparks reportedly tried to ban an LGBT club from operating at the private school he runs, according to The Daily Beast.

The former headmaster and CEO of Epiphany School of Global Studies, the school Sparks started in North Carolina in 2006, sued Sparks and the school's Board of Trustees in 2014, citing abuse and harassment.

“Sparks and members of the Board unapologetically marginalized, bullied, and harassed members of the School community,” the lawsuit states, according to the Daily Beast. The publication obtained emails between Sparks and the former headmaster, Saul Benjamin, that indicate Sparks did not agree with Benjamin's plans to start an LGBT club at Epiphany.

Benjamin also accused Sparks of spreading a rumor "that he suffered from a mental disorder."

Sparks, known for his successful romance novels-turned-movies "A Walk to Remember" and "The Notebook," among others, released a statement Thursday calling The Daily Beast article "not news" and said the accusations are false.

"Epiphany is and remains a place where students and faculty of any race, belief, religion, background or orientation should feel welcome," Sparks said in the statement posted on Twitter.

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